Why does the U.S. have so many regional accents?
About this episode
1208. This week, linguist Valerie Fridland explains why the U.S. has so many regional accents — tracing New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southern, and Western speech back to where their first settlers came from, and how we can still hear "founder effects" in the way we talk today.
Valerie Fridland is a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and author of "Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents." You can find her at valeriefridland.com.
🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.
🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)
🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.
🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.
🔗 Find an edited transcript.
🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.
| HOST: Mignon Fogarty
| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.
- Audio Engineer: Castria Communications
- Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
- Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
- Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian
- Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb
| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.
| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Get every episode summarized
Each time Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Stray Russian words and made-up style rules, with Daniel Heuman and Chris Ryder
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Who's a good boy? The science behind 'dog voice.' Is it 'bated breath' or 'baite...
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
How we got from no spaces between words to the interrobang, with Florence Hazrat
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Why do so many last names sound like jobs?
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing